Skyler Tries on His Whites April 23rd

April 23 2012,

HELLO EVERYONE!

Me, Kaitlin, Sophie, Alicia (Girl The Forsyths taught), and Elder Corbin

I hope you've all had a good week. Mine has been "spot on" as they say here. The Baptismal service on Saturday went smoothly. It was such a good experience to be able to be a part of it. The three girls were just glowing all day. We had so many people show up to it that we had to move into the chapel because we couldn't fit everyone. There was loads of support.


It was definitely a humbling experience to be able to Baptize and then confirm someone( I baptized Kaitlin and confirmed Sophie). It's a really good feeling to feel the power of the priesthood working through you. Everything just went so well! ahah.

Kaitlin and I

We were able to finally contact Stephen. He said that he still wants to be baptized so we've moved his date to May 12th. Not sure if I'll even be here for it because transfers are next Wednesday. I'm not sure if I'll be leaving or staying but I'll most likely have a new companion now because Elder Corbin has been here three transfers. I'll be officially trained! haha. That seems so crazy to think about. I'm just starting to get used to Stockport! That's missionary life though, constant change. "Change is the Mother to Growth"

I had the Opportunity to go on another exchange with Elder Herrin. It was nice to be able to get out of the routine a bit and change things up. Sometimes things get a bit repetitive so exchanges are always good. I always learn so much from exchanges. it's nice to see how other missionaries do things and what kind of strengths they have. It gives you a good idea what to do for yourself.

Sophie and I

We've found a few new investigators that we're working with. So we'll still be staying pretty busy after the baptisms. Missionary work never stops! Stockport is still booming. Elder's Herrin and Webster, the other Elders in the Stockport ward have two people dated for baptism on the 5th May. We're all working hard and the Lord is really blessing us right now.

It's hard to believe I've been out over 3 months now. Time is going by very fast. From what the other missionaries tell me, it only goes quicker from here! My mission is already an 1/8 over. I'm really going to try and focus on making the best of everyday because 2 years really isn't that much time and you can't afford to waste a day. Keep praying for me and all the other missionaries. We all need your help.

Help the missionaries whenever you can. Offer to feed them, give them rides, offer to fellowship with them in lessons, open your home for them to teach investigators. Missionary work would practically cease without members, and it means so much to the missionaries when you help them out. If you sacrifice a little bit of time to help them YOU WILL BE BLESSED!

Just like in "Praise to the man",  it says "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven". We actually had a training on that not too long ago. We were asked " what can I sacrifice?". One question that caused some serious self evaluation for myself was " in what ways am i holding myself back from being fully consecrated and devoted". It really made me think. Then we set goals on the ways we would sacrifice, and better ourselves. It was another humbling experience. Missions are pretty good at humbling you. haha

Well I hope everyone has a good week. I look forward to giving you all the update about what's going on for the up and coming transfer. since I'm not sure where I'll end up mail everything to the mission office until i get the update. Hope to hear from you all soon! :)

Love Elder Ford

Pictures:

 Manchester United Stadium. Old Trafford. We went there last P day. I'm thinking about buying a jersey with my name and a nice 32 on the back haha.

I'm Developing into a chef. HAM FRIED RICE! haha. Who needs Panda Express.

In our baptismal whites!

Me, Kaitlin, Sophie, Alicia (Girl The Forsyths taught), and Elder Corbin 

Fruits of the first week April 16th

April 16, 2012

Hello Everyone!

Things have been going very well here! It's good to hear you are all doing so well!

WE HAD HERMANS BAPTISM ON THURSDAY! It was sooo good! Herman is going to do great. We're trying to convince him to serve a mission now. haha. Elder Corbin got to perform the baptism, and he did a great job. We were both feeling pretty pumped up after.

We'll have a few more this coming Saturday as well. Stockport will have 3 new members, possibly 4! Sophie and Katelyn Ruddick, who have been teaching (8 and 10 years old), another girl that Elder and Sister Forsyth, the senior couple, has been teaching, and possibly Stephen. It should be a pretty good day! haha. Elder Corbin will baptize Sophie, and I'll be baptizing Katelyn.

With all the success we've been having there has been a serious increase in the opposition we've been facing! We've been on some pretty sour buses. Some people just like to yell. haha. Friday night was especially bad. We were on our way to the ward talent show and the opposition was pretty bad. Elder Corbin and I described it as "Hell On Wheels" haha. After getting off the bus we were feeling pretty down, then we got a phone call... It was Elder Corbin's dad! He was calling to tell him he was getting married! haha it was so unexpected! It changed both of our moods instantly.

I've been learning a lot about opposition. I've learned that there are two kinds. 1. From god to make you stronger and give you opportunities for growth, and 2. From Satan to try and stop you. It helps so much when you can just recognize and identify what kind of opposition it is.

That's pretty much all that's going on. haha. It's impossible to fit my entire week, and all the amazing, odd, and funny experiences you go through as a missionary into one email.

Quick update on the food. I've found some foods I'm definitely bringing home. Chicken Korma Curry( Indian Food). I can whip up a mean one.haha. My chef skills are developing nicely. Unfortunately it's not helping me put back on any weight. I've lost 20 pounds now!...Ridiculous! haha

It's weird to think that Wednesday is my 3 month mark. Time is flying by!

I love you all so much and I hope to here from you all very soon. Thank you for all your love and support. :)

Love Elder Ford

This picture made me think of the property

Easter in StockPort

April 11 2012,

Hey everyone!

Sorry i wasn't able to email on monday. It was a Holiday here so the
library was closed.

Things have been good this past week. The baptisms of both Stephen and
Herman have been moved back. Hermans is scheduled for tomorrow and
Stephens is moved back to the 21st. Just some minor speed bumps but
we're pressing forward.

It was a great Easter Sunday. the chapel was packed! Our gospel
principles class was full to capacity with all of our investigators
and some other new people. We'll most likely need a new room next
week!

Nothing to eventful happened the last week. I went on an exchange with
one of the Zone leaders. I learned a ton about using time effectively.
We also had a specialized training yesterday that took up most of the
day.

Other than that not much. I went to Taco bell the other day. haha.
There are only two in all of england and the other one is in london.
It was pretty good but the portion sizes are horrible.

Love you all very much. sorry this is so short. We had to pay to go to
an internet cafe because the computers at the library are down. If i
don't get time to respond to your email i apologize! I'll talk to you
all on monday

Love Elder Ford

Onward Ever Onward March 26th

Stockport!!!!

March 26 2012,

HELLOOO EVERYONE!

How are you all doing? Things have been sooo good in Stockport! The work is rolling along.

On Saturday we added a new member to the ward, Janet Ashokeji. Her baptismal service was great. We were able to get Stephen to attend and he really enjoyed it. Elder Corbin heard a quote from Elder Jeffrey R Holland that 80% of investigators who attend the baptism of another investigator will be baptized themselves. BOOM! Those are some pretty high numbers! Stephen is currently dated for the 7th and we're working towards it!

Herman(boy i met my first week out) also attended the baptism! he's been doing so well in the Y.S.A ward! He loves it. He's dated for baptism on the 5th and he's asked Elder Corbin to Baptize him! We're so excited for him!

There was such a good turnout for Janet's Baptism. The ward has been extremely supportive. Janet has integrated into the ward so well and the Relief Society sisters have made her feel very welcome

Sunday was amazing! The chapel was packed! Janet was confirmed a member and received the gift of the holy ghost, there were quite a few people there who hadn't been before of hadn't been in quite awhile, it was fast and testimony meeting and Stephen Got up and bore his testimony! Elder Corbin and I were so shocked. That was the last thing we expected him to do! He's making so much progress! :)

There is an Excitement for missionary work here in Stockport! The members are starting to do there own missionary work. They're bringing friends and relatives to church, they're giving us solid referrals. Things are going to pick up after Janets Baptism. I think it really breathed new life into the ward!

I'm really looking forward to this next week. We should have many teaching opportunities and hopefully we find a few more people who have been prepared to hear the gospel. We also have Zone Conference so i should receive any Mail/Packages that have been sent. I'm so excited for it! Mail is the best. I should have a package from mom and dad, hopefully with some food in it. I miss my American Food! A few of the members somehow found out about the package as well and they're looking forward to trying some of it! haha

Things are going good here. I miss everyone so much! I need to here from you all. I'll be staying in Stockport for at least the next six weeks, probably longer. Mail some stuff to the flat :)

Love you all

Elder Ford

Pictures:

 Herman and I   (p.s i picked up a new suit! It was left in one of the flats by a missionary that went home and it just happened to fit. not a perfect fit but it'll do for now :)

     

          The stockport Elders and Janet ( Me, Elder Webster, Janet, Elder Herrin, And Elder Corbin) 

Amy and Karla Ruddick. Members in the ward

Nuff Said

Nuff Said

Joe Biskup! haha Young man in the ward preparing for his mission. He's the best

Two Months in Stockport

March 21 2012,

I Can't believe it's already been two months and that i've already completed my first full transfer! Time is flying. I hope everyone has had an amazing week. All is well in Stockport :)

We were able to have our missionary training camp for all the new missionaries last wednesday. It was so good! We were able to learn and develop a lot of important tools in missionary work that we use every day. We also talked a lot about our mission rules. Our mission is what you could say is a strict mission. It expects a lot out of it's missionaries and i'm so grateful for that. Our mission puts a lot of emphasis on "becoming" a Christlike missionary. We also stress "EXACT obedience and that we're not only obedient the rules, but that we're obedient to our covenants. We made a promise that we'd give it all that we have and so i'm doing my best to live up to that. We're challenged to become a Full-time missionary, not a Fill-time missionary. I can already see the impact that my mission will have on me in the future.

I learned so much from training camp. They didnt gives us any mail though so no packages or letters :( . I should get it this next wednesday at our zone conference so i'm looking forward to that! Mail is the best!

I was able to go on an exchange with the zone leaders last week. i went into there area and worked there for a day. it was a very different experience because he's Chinese speaking! haha none of the people we taught could understand me so he had to translate. haha it was pretty funny. there are so many different cultures here. Extremely diverse

On the 18th it was English mothers day so..... HAPPY MOTHER DAY! haha

Things have been progressing with Stephen. We've moved his baptismal date back to the 7th of april to make sure that he's ready. He's made so much progress in just the last few days though. i'm confident he'll get there. We also seen an increase in new investigators. last sunday Shwan attended church with us and we are in the beginning of the teaching process with him.

The other stockport elders will be having a baptism this saturday so we're excited about that. It's been awhile since this area has seen a baptism. we should have a great turnout with members and with our investigators.

Transfers came and went, no new changes. i'll be in Stockport for at least another six weeks which i'm happy about. i'm jsut starting to get familiar with the area and all the members.

I love you all very much and i'm so thankful for all your support. I pray for you all daily. Remember me and all of our investigators in your prayers! I'll talk to you all again this monday! :)

Love you all :)

Elder Ford

Hello family and friends!

How is everyone doing! Things have been going great here in Stockport. The work is moving along! This week has had a lot of different things going on!

I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with one of the assistants to the President. It was amazing. It honestly changed my entire mission! He took diligence to a new level i didn't even think was possible! We would knock on a door, he would hear a car door slam a hundred yards away and i would turn around and he was already sprinting to go talk to that person. haha. In these last two months i think I've ran more in dress shoes than i ever did in basketball shoes. We're constantly running to be places on time as well. He set such a good example for me and taught me some very valuable lessons.

I got to teach herman again while i was with him too! he's doing so great! He scheduled for baptism in a few weeks!

I got to go on an exchange with Elder Webster this week too. He was in my same mtc group so we had to brand new missionaries out together. haha. luckily we had quite a few service project already scheduled so we didn't get lost. haha that was quite the experience

We've continued working with Stephen. We pushed his baptism date back to the 24 because he's struggling to grasp some of the concepts we're teaching. it's something that's a bit foreign to him. we've taught him the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity this week and he responded well to both of them. He really wants to be baptized! We're making sure he wants to be baptized for the right reasons and not just because he likes us. haha always calls us up wanting to know if we want to go catch a movie. He's told us quite a few times that we should be prophets haha. After he says that we go into a discussion about what a prophet is. haha :). we've had that conversation quite a few times. You just never know what he's going to say. It's hilarious.

I remember before i left on my mission and at the mtc i was concerned i was going to get fat... let's just say that's no longer a concern haha. at the mtc i weighed myself and i weighed 226. I got the chance to weight myself earlier this week and i weighed 212! I've lost 14 pounds just since I've left the MTC! I was wearing a suit when i weighed myself too! What the.... haha

We had a great turnout at church on sunday too. We had 4 less actives show up plus the investigators for both companionship's. Our gospel principles class was as full as it could be. Next week they're probably going to move us into a bigger room! haha BOOM! Hopefully we can get even more to show up next week! If we could get all of the less actives in the ward to show up we would double our sacrament meeting attendance. It's something we're really focusing on.

We've got Training Camp coming up this week on Wednesday which I'm pretty excited for. Never can have too much training. We'll also get our mail and packages that were sent to the mission office. Rumor has it that mom and dad sent me a quality size package. haha I'm really looking forward to it. Mail is the best!

Not much else going on out here. Just going day to day and trying to do my best. it's hard to believe my first transfer as a missionary is almost over. Our transfer day is next Wednesday. i won't be moving but on transfer weeks our Preparation days are moved to Wednesdays instead of Mondays. So I'll be emailing next Wednesday

I miss and love you all very much! I pray for you everyday! Keep me updated with everything that's going on

Love Elder Ford!

Pictures:
Elder Webster and I doing some power washing for a member.

I fell asleep during our nightly companion prayer so Elder Corbin decided to take a picture! haha. I was out of it.


A view just outside our flat on the main road in stockport.

Hello everyone! :)


I hope everyone has had an amazing week! things have been going pretty good out here. The work is just moving along!


On Monday night we met with a less active man in the ward named Robert. He blew me away! He had such a strong testimony! he served his mission about ten years ago and he just shared all his experiences with us. it was amazing. He said he just got burnt out of actually attending church. So Elder Corbin and I decided, if he loves missionary work so much, let's get him to work with us. haha. We're going to teach an investigator in his home tonight and we're going to get him to go out tracting with us. He really loves having us around. I think it just takes him back to so many good memories that he had on his mission. He's so close to coming back!


We also had our Specialized trainings this week with the entire zone. Best part of it was of course receiving the mail. ahaha. The package from Mom and Dad was amazing. There's nothing like American candy and food. :) The food out here is not even close to as good as American food. I would kill for some Cafe Rio and Panda Express. Don't take it for granted! haha. I also got quite a few letters which was really nice. The only bad thing is that we only have our conferences about every two and half weeks so you don't get mail to often. don't hesitate to send letters to the flat. I'll be there for at least another eight weeks, probably longer. I couldn't believe how much shipping was! Rip off.


I had my first exchange this week as well. I was with Elder Herrin from Sandy, Utah. Exchanges are the best. You get an opportunity to see how other missionaries work and pick up on little tricks that that work for them. I've already learned more in these last few weeks than i have in my entire life!


There are definitely some hard days though. I swear sometimes the whole country must wake up and decide to be grumpy some mornings. haha. probably the lack of sunlight. some days no one wants to hear us. we'll have people yelling at us to go get jobs and stuff like that. haha. On the days were there is heavy opposition is when we see miracles though. We know Satan is just trying to discourage us because something really good is about to happen. We just push through it.


We also got a new senior missionary couple in our area! They're amazing! They had us over for dinner then went and fellowshipped at a lesson with us. They have insights and advice that no 19 year old missionary could provide. they're going to help out here so much!


The investigator we're really working with right now is Stephen. He's dated for baptism on the 17th and he's already attended church twice. He has a strong desire to follow Christ and be baptized. Our challenge as missionaries is to make sure he understands what we're teaching him...a lot harder than it sounds haha. the first few times we met with him he didn't understand anything we said. it's been a real learning experience for both of us. We're going to try and meet with him 4 times a week to make sure he's ready for his day. Pray for him and us!


We got the approval on March 1st that we didn't need to wear our suit jackets anymore! i was so excited! I've been trying to look for another suit but all the stores don't have any that fit me. i need a tailor and they're REAL expensive. I was looking for a nice grey one but no luck. luckily we only have to wear suits to our church meetings until November so i won't need to worry about it for a while.


Things are going real good out here. I Love and miss everyone so much. I pray for you everyday, don't forget to pray for me and the people of Stockport too! Keep me updated with everything that's going on. Love you all


Love Elder Ford